Page 1. Chapter 19 The Transition to Secular Psychotherapy Hypnosis and the Alternate-Consciousne... more Page 1. Chapter 19 The Transition to Secular Psychotherapy Hypnosis and the Alternate-Consciousness Paradigm Adam Crabtree Three traditions exist in the Western world for understanding the origins of disturbances of consciousness ...
Abstract 1. The discovery of magnetic sleep—an artificially induced trance-like state—in 1784 mar... more Abstract 1. The discovery of magnetic sleep—an artificially induced trance-like state—in 1784 marked the beginning of the modern era of psychological healing.... This book tells the story of the discovery of magnetic sleep and its relationship to psychotherapy. Crabtree ...
Journal of The History of The Behavioral Sciences, 2003
This article is about the clash of two explanatory paradigms, each attempting to account for the ... more This article is about the clash of two explanatory paradigms, each attempting to account for the same data of human experience. In the first half of the nineteenth century, physiologists investigated reflex actions and applied a recently coined word, "automatism," to describe actions which, although seeming to arise from higher centers, actually result from automatic reaction to sensory stimuli. Experiments with spinal reflexes led to the investigation of the reflex action of the brain or "cerebral automatisms." Reflex actions of this kind were used to explain everything from acting compulsively to composing symphonies. Physiological explanations of phenomena of this kind seemed insufficient to some and, in the 1880s, Frederic Myers and Pierre Janet developed psychological frameworks for understanding these phenomena, positing hidden centers of intelligence at work in the individual, outside ordinary awareness, which produce what came to be called "psychological automatisms." Their attempts to unify this psychological framework with the existing physiological one failed. Nevertheless, their work played a crucial role in paving the way for what Ellenberger called dynamic psychiatry, which accepts the reality of an unconscious dynamic of the psyche.
The common-sense view of survival of death presumes that the individual who survives has somethin... more The common-sense view of survival of death presumes that the individual who survives has something like a “soul” that is not destroyed at death, but continues to exist. Philosophies that accept this notion talk about a “substantial soul,” employing the notion of “substance” as defined within scholastic philosophy. A substance of a thing represents its essential nature. Substance is also something that exists in its own right and is a principle of continuity, in that it is what stays the same as the concrete thing changes. It is a substrate for “accidents,” which are non-essential properties or qualities. While the substance remains the same throughout change, the “accidents” that “inhere” in it alter. The “substantial soul” provides continuity of personal identity throughout all the changes of life, and, if one accepts the notion of survival, it continues to exist after death. What changes in a human being–specific physical aspects, mental and emotional states, personal dispositions...
The History of Psychiatry and Medical Psychology, 2008
Three traditions exist in the Western world for understanding the origins of disturbances of cons... more Three traditions exist in the Western world for understanding the origins of disturbances of consciousness and accompanying bizarre behavior-the spiritist, the medical, and the psychological-within which three influential paradigms for understanding mental illness have evolved. The spiritist approach is the oldest and most universally found. It sees disturbed mental functioning as a sign of outside intrusion. The stricken individual is acting strangely because some witch, sorcerer, magician, or evil spirit is interfering with that person's soul. The intrusion reaches its extreme form in demonic possession, in which the individual is entirely taken over by the external force. The cure for the condition is to appease the troublesome agent, use countermeasures to block its influence, or exorcise it. In the spiritist approach to mental disturbances, the principal mental health workers are the priest, the shaman, or the magician since they are able to function on the same level as the being producing the problem. This conception of the dynamics of mental disorder constitutes a well-defined model or paradigm and may be labeled the intrusion paradigm for disturbances of consciousness. Another view of the cause of mental aberration has evolved alongside the spiritist way of seeing things. In this view the disturbance is thought to be the result of organic dysfunction. Although this notion goes back hundreds of years in the Western tradition, it received a significant boost in the sixteenth century with the appearance of two works: the Occulta naturae miracula (1559) of Levinus Lemnius and the De praestigiis daemonum (1562) of Johann Weyer. These two men called into question the assumptions of the intrusion paradigm and asserted that the mental disturbance was a physical rather than spiritual problem. They insisted that victims were not suffering from outside interference but from an illness, a bodily malady that could be corrected medically. According to Lemnius, disturbances of consciousness were due to vehement cerebral stimulation. To treat the condition, one must therefore understand the functioning of the brain and the humors that affect it. Weyer asserted that the persecuted witches of his day were the victims of crazy imagination caused by illnesses that came from natural sources, either from drugs or poisons they had ingested or from humoral imbalances created through other means. Weyer condemned all who resorted to exorcism or magic, declaring that those who used such methods were even more deluded than their patients. By locating the source of mental disturbance in the dysfunctioning physical organism, Lemnius and Weyer clearly formulated a medical model for the condition that may fittingly be termed the organic paradigm for disturbances of consciousness. It was not only those working within the organic paradigm who sought natural causes. A venerable tradition of humanistic thinkers favoring a psychological approach to mental illness based on an understanding of the mind also existed. A contemporary of Lemnius and Weyer,
In the last quarter of the 18th century, Franz Anton Mesmer (1734-1815) devised and promoted a he... more In the last quarter of the 18th century, Franz Anton Mesmer (1734-1815) devised and promoted a healing method that he called "animal magnetism." For approximately seventy-five years from its beginnings in 1779, animal magnetism flourished as a medical and psychological specialty, and for another fifty years it continued to be a system of some influence. Animal magnetism is not comparable to certain medical fads which flourished for a time and then died out. Such crazes did not significantly shape medical or psychological theory and practice, nor did they significantly affect the evolution of those disciplines. Animal magnetism, on the other hand, had a profound impact on medicine, psychology, and psychical research.
Du Prel's thinking, with its roots in Kant and Schopenhauer is important not in the empirical dat... more Du Prel's thinking, with its roots in Kant and Schopenhauer is important not in the empirical data (relevant to the issues of our book) that it provides (the data are drawn mainly from observations in the magnetic/hypnotic tradition, material that was available to-if not necessary used by-Myers). What is important is that Du Prel attempts to present a cogent philosophical framework for understanding that data. The more I go into this whole matter, the more I see that Du Prel's presentation was, on its own, rather crude, and that a greater lucidity of thought and presentation of the central issues can be found in the writings of Arthur Schopenhauer, upon whom Du Prel was obviously very dependent.
Page 1. Chapter 19 The Transition to Secular Psychotherapy Hypnosis and the Alternate-Consciousne... more Page 1. Chapter 19 The Transition to Secular Psychotherapy Hypnosis and the Alternate-Consciousness Paradigm Adam Crabtree Three traditions exist in the Western world for understanding the origins of disturbances of consciousness ...
Abstract 1. The discovery of magnetic sleep—an artificially induced trance-like state—in 1784 mar... more Abstract 1. The discovery of magnetic sleep—an artificially induced trance-like state—in 1784 marked the beginning of the modern era of psychological healing.... This book tells the story of the discovery of magnetic sleep and its relationship to psychotherapy. Crabtree ...
Journal of The History of The Behavioral Sciences, 2003
This article is about the clash of two explanatory paradigms, each attempting to account for the ... more This article is about the clash of two explanatory paradigms, each attempting to account for the same data of human experience. In the first half of the nineteenth century, physiologists investigated reflex actions and applied a recently coined word, "automatism," to describe actions which, although seeming to arise from higher centers, actually result from automatic reaction to sensory stimuli. Experiments with spinal reflexes led to the investigation of the reflex action of the brain or "cerebral automatisms." Reflex actions of this kind were used to explain everything from acting compulsively to composing symphonies. Physiological explanations of phenomena of this kind seemed insufficient to some and, in the 1880s, Frederic Myers and Pierre Janet developed psychological frameworks for understanding these phenomena, positing hidden centers of intelligence at work in the individual, outside ordinary awareness, which produce what came to be called "psychological automatisms." Their attempts to unify this psychological framework with the existing physiological one failed. Nevertheless, their work played a crucial role in paving the way for what Ellenberger called dynamic psychiatry, which accepts the reality of an unconscious dynamic of the psyche.
The common-sense view of survival of death presumes that the individual who survives has somethin... more The common-sense view of survival of death presumes that the individual who survives has something like a “soul” that is not destroyed at death, but continues to exist. Philosophies that accept this notion talk about a “substantial soul,” employing the notion of “substance” as defined within scholastic philosophy. A substance of a thing represents its essential nature. Substance is also something that exists in its own right and is a principle of continuity, in that it is what stays the same as the concrete thing changes. It is a substrate for “accidents,” which are non-essential properties or qualities. While the substance remains the same throughout change, the “accidents” that “inhere” in it alter. The “substantial soul” provides continuity of personal identity throughout all the changes of life, and, if one accepts the notion of survival, it continues to exist after death. What changes in a human being–specific physical aspects, mental and emotional states, personal dispositions...
The History of Psychiatry and Medical Psychology, 2008
Three traditions exist in the Western world for understanding the origins of disturbances of cons... more Three traditions exist in the Western world for understanding the origins of disturbances of consciousness and accompanying bizarre behavior-the spiritist, the medical, and the psychological-within which three influential paradigms for understanding mental illness have evolved. The spiritist approach is the oldest and most universally found. It sees disturbed mental functioning as a sign of outside intrusion. The stricken individual is acting strangely because some witch, sorcerer, magician, or evil spirit is interfering with that person's soul. The intrusion reaches its extreme form in demonic possession, in which the individual is entirely taken over by the external force. The cure for the condition is to appease the troublesome agent, use countermeasures to block its influence, or exorcise it. In the spiritist approach to mental disturbances, the principal mental health workers are the priest, the shaman, or the magician since they are able to function on the same level as the being producing the problem. This conception of the dynamics of mental disorder constitutes a well-defined model or paradigm and may be labeled the intrusion paradigm for disturbances of consciousness. Another view of the cause of mental aberration has evolved alongside the spiritist way of seeing things. In this view the disturbance is thought to be the result of organic dysfunction. Although this notion goes back hundreds of years in the Western tradition, it received a significant boost in the sixteenth century with the appearance of two works: the Occulta naturae miracula (1559) of Levinus Lemnius and the De praestigiis daemonum (1562) of Johann Weyer. These two men called into question the assumptions of the intrusion paradigm and asserted that the mental disturbance was a physical rather than spiritual problem. They insisted that victims were not suffering from outside interference but from an illness, a bodily malady that could be corrected medically. According to Lemnius, disturbances of consciousness were due to vehement cerebral stimulation. To treat the condition, one must therefore understand the functioning of the brain and the humors that affect it. Weyer asserted that the persecuted witches of his day were the victims of crazy imagination caused by illnesses that came from natural sources, either from drugs or poisons they had ingested or from humoral imbalances created through other means. Weyer condemned all who resorted to exorcism or magic, declaring that those who used such methods were even more deluded than their patients. By locating the source of mental disturbance in the dysfunctioning physical organism, Lemnius and Weyer clearly formulated a medical model for the condition that may fittingly be termed the organic paradigm for disturbances of consciousness. It was not only those working within the organic paradigm who sought natural causes. A venerable tradition of humanistic thinkers favoring a psychological approach to mental illness based on an understanding of the mind also existed. A contemporary of Lemnius and Weyer,
In the last quarter of the 18th century, Franz Anton Mesmer (1734-1815) devised and promoted a he... more In the last quarter of the 18th century, Franz Anton Mesmer (1734-1815) devised and promoted a healing method that he called "animal magnetism." For approximately seventy-five years from its beginnings in 1779, animal magnetism flourished as a medical and psychological specialty, and for another fifty years it continued to be a system of some influence. Animal magnetism is not comparable to certain medical fads which flourished for a time and then died out. Such crazes did not significantly shape medical or psychological theory and practice, nor did they significantly affect the evolution of those disciplines. Animal magnetism, on the other hand, had a profound impact on medicine, psychology, and psychical research.
Du Prel's thinking, with its roots in Kant and Schopenhauer is important not in the empirical dat... more Du Prel's thinking, with its roots in Kant and Schopenhauer is important not in the empirical data (relevant to the issues of our book) that it provides (the data are drawn mainly from observations in the magnetic/hypnotic tradition, material that was available to-if not necessary used by-Myers). What is important is that Du Prel attempts to present a cogent philosophical framework for understanding that data. The more I go into this whole matter, the more I see that Du Prel's presentation was, on its own, rather crude, and that a greater lucidity of thought and presentation of the central issues can be found in the writings of Arthur Schopenhauer, upon whom Du Prel was obviously very dependent.
Adam Crabtree, RP, is a trainer of psychotherapists and has a private therapy practice in Toronto... more Adam Crabtree, RP, is a trainer of psychotherapists and has a private therapy practice in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, He is author of From Mesmer to Freud: Magnetic Sleep and the Roots of Psychological Healing, Multiple Man: Explorations in Possession and Multiple Personality, Trance Zero: Breaking the Spell of Conformity, and Evolutionary Love and the Ravages of Greed. He is also coauthor of Irreducible Mind: Toward a Psychology for the 21st Century, and he is coeditor of Beyond Physicalism: Toward Reconciliation of Science and Spirituality.
Here he describes "agape" as a form of love in which the well-being of the beloved person is the foremost and only consideration. "Eros" on the other hand, is a selfish form of love, based on the lover's impulse to satisfy their desire for their beloved person. He describes agape as the "conscience of eros" and maintains that, without agape, eros can degenerate into an endless cycle of greed. Both eros and agape are necessary.
New Thinking Allowed host, Jeffrey Mishlove, PhD, is author of The Roots of Consciousness, Psi Development Systems, and The PK Man. Between 1986 and 2002 he hosted and co-produced the original Thinking Allowed public television series.
Adam Crabtree, RP, is a trainer of psychotherapists and has a private therapy practice in Toronto... more Adam Crabtree, RP, is a trainer of psychotherapists and has a private therapy practice in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, He is author of From Mesmer to Freud: Magnetic Sleep and the Roots of Psychological Healing, Multiple Man: Explorations in Possession and Multiple Personality, Trance Zero: Breaking the Spell of Conformity, and Evolutionary Love and the Ravages of Greed. He is also coauthor of Irreducible Mind: Toward a Psychology for the 21st Century, and he is coeditor of Beyond Physicalism: Toward Reconciliation of Science and Spirituality.
Here he suggests that group trance states create a self-conscious group mind. Generally, the group self-consciousness is less evolved than individual self-consciousness. He points to discussions of the group mind in psychology, sociology, Theosophy, and in religious studies. He suggests that the group mind can be either positive or negative in terms of its impact upon individuals. He maintains that trance-maintainers and trance-breakers are both necessary.
New Thinking Allowed host, Jeffrey Mishlove, PhD, is author of The Roots of Consciousness, Psi Development Systems, and The PK Man. Between 1986 and 2002 he hosted and co-produced the original Thinking Allowed public television series. He is the recipient of the only doctoral diploma in "parapsychology" ever awarded by an accredited university (University of California, Berkeley, 1980).
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Here he describes "agape" as a form of love in which the well-being of the beloved person is the foremost and only consideration. "Eros" on the other hand, is a selfish form of love, based on the lover's impulse to satisfy their desire for their beloved person. He describes agape as the "conscience of eros" and maintains that, without agape, eros can degenerate into an endless cycle of greed. Both eros and agape are necessary.
New Thinking Allowed host, Jeffrey Mishlove, PhD, is author of The Roots of Consciousness, Psi Development Systems, and The PK Man. Between 1986 and 2002 he hosted and co-produced the original Thinking Allowed public television series.
(Recorded on December 9, 2017)
Here he suggests that group trance states create a self-conscious group mind. Generally, the group self-consciousness is less evolved than individual self-consciousness. He points to discussions of the group mind in psychology, sociology, Theosophy, and in religious studies. He suggests that the group mind can be either positive or negative in terms of its impact upon individuals. He maintains that trance-maintainers and trance-breakers are both necessary.
New Thinking Allowed host, Jeffrey Mishlove, PhD, is author of The Roots of Consciousness, Psi Development Systems, and The PK Man. Between 1986 and 2002 he hosted and co-produced the original Thinking Allowed public television series. He is the recipient of the only doctoral diploma in "parapsychology" ever awarded by an accredited university (University of California, Berkeley, 1980).
(Recorded on December 9, 2017)